1.Name (First and Last)
Elise King
2.LinkedIn
Elise King
Employment Info
3.Employer
KONE Inc.
4.Title/Occupation
Digital Marketing Coordinator
Academic Info
5.Graduation Year (list as "Month Year")
May 2013
6.Major
News-Editorial Journalism
7.Minor and/or Certificates
Business Minor
Other Stuff
8.Hometown
Naperville, IL
9.Hobbies
fitness, cooking, blogging, photography, video games
Career Information & Advice
10.What are your job responsibilities/duties?
KONE Inc. is an international company, but my focus is on Digital Marketing in North America. My primary job responsibilities include managing web content on KONE's North American intranet (including writing many of the internal local company news items), assisting with managing our social media, including our blog, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube, and implementing SEO strategies to improve the company's search engine results on Google and Bing. I also assist with occasional "ad hoc" requests, whether it's designing graphics for internal use or working with our printing company to print and ship posters, booklets, etc.
11.What does a typical day look like?
On a typical day I'm usually working on about ten different things, which I love. I'll be writing new internal articles, posting a few to our intranet later that day, and also editing other web content (such as helping other intranet editors update links or advertise company updates on our homepage). Then I might publish a blog post or a status update on our LinkedIn, or might edit some video footage for our YouTube channel. A good portion of my day also involves sending media back and forth between other colleagues for review/editing.
12.What do you most enjoy about your job?
What I enjoy most about my job is the fact that I get to use all of my multimedia journalism and business skills. I'm never stuck doing one thing all day. I get to write, edit, publish, film, design, etc., but I also have to see things from a strategic, marketing communications perspective. The people I work with most often are also great, which makes the job fun.
13.What is the most difficult aspect of the job?
Surprisingly, the most difficult aspect of my job is the same challenge I had when I worked on stories for journalism classes or at the Daily Illini: getting timely responses from sources. I may always be working to portray KONE in a positive light, but even if others know I'm trying to help, they still can very difficult to get a hold of (as people have very busy work schedules). However in the world of marketing communications, I fortunately have flexible deadlines, so I'm able to work with others' schedules.
14.What on-campus activities were you involved with? Where did you gain relevant experience?
On campus I wrote for the Movies/TV section of buzz Magazine, then later worked on The Spread Magazine and was a graphic designer and copy editor at the Daily Illini. I also held a communications internship at the Coordinated Science Laboratory in the College of Engineering. These activities gave me a well-rounded experience that allowed me to develop my multimedia skills and my internship allowed me to apply my skills in more of an internal communications environment. My internship also helped me realize that I enjoyed covering engineering and technical subjects (KONE engineers elevators and escalators).
15.How did your experience at ILLINOIS and in the College of Media prepare you for your professional life? For this specific position?
As I mentioned, my extracurricular activities gave me a well-rounded journalism experience, but my experience with the College of Media was well-rounded too. I learned a lot of valuable skills from professors who had great professional experience. I was glad that I was able to learn everything including writing and editing, researching databases and records, shooting and editing videos stories, and even coding HTML and CSS. I've truly needed all of these skills for my job, and I often use many of these different skills on a daily basis.
16.What advice do you have for students interested in this field?
Never be afraid to learn more. There's no way you will know everything you need to right out of college (especially at a job like this where you have to do so many different things), so don't be afraid to learn on the job. Also, students who are interested in marketing communications should explore what types of companies/industries they would want to do marketing for, similar to exploring what type of beat you would want to cover.
17.What is one thing that you know now that you wish you had known when you started in the field? When you graduated from the College?
There are many ways to get your foot in the door in the marketing communications field: internship, contract work, part-time, temp-to hire, direct hire, etc. And there are many ways to find jobs posting for this type of work (social media, general job boards, school job boards). Apply through all channels and apply to different job types! Oftentimes the BEST thing to do is start out as an intern or part-time contract employee and work your way into the company, especially if you’re fresh out of college and have no job experience.